All he had to report was the disappearance of the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe.
As soon as the prince went missing, Ning Fengzhi, acting as Heaven Dou's representative, had drafted a document overnight and affixed the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's temporary seal.
He had sent it to Spirit Hall both to request help finding the crown prince and to sound them out.
Yue Guan took out the document and bowed, asking for His Holiness the Pope's guidance.
Qian Chenming did not answer immediately. Instead, he gently laid the document on the table.
"Help them. Say that Spirit Hall is willing to offer its full assistance and will dispatch personnel immediately to search Spirit City and the surrounding hundred li."
Yue Guan hesitated. "And in practice..."
Qian Chenming lifted his eyelids and glanced at him. That single look sent a chill down Yue Guan's back.
"Xiao Xue is sitting right there in the Worship Hall. Who am I supposed to send to find Xue Qinghe? Send her to find herself?"
Yue Guan understood instantly.
"Understood."
Agree on the surface, go through the motions in practice, and toss out an excuse when the time was right.
So what if they could not find him? Even if Xue Qinghe had disappeared in Spirit City, Heaven Dou could do nothing to them without concrete evidence.
They must not forget.
If Spirit Hall had not intervened and maneuvered on their behalf back then.
The so-called Heaven Dou Empire would long since have been swallowed up by the Star Luo Empire.
How could such a feeble empire, one that needed their support at every turn, dare defy Spirit Hall?
Next, the dossier pages turned one after another. Qian Chenming dealt with them extremely quickly, as though the chronic ailments that had plagued Spirit Hall for years could be erased with a few strokes of his pen.
From their initial trembling apprehension, everyone in the hall gradually grew numb, left with nothing to do but nod and agree.
Whatever His Holiness the Pope said went, anyway.
Then, after turning through a dozen or so pages, Qian Chenming suddenly stopped.
The atmosphere in the hall tightened.
His fingertip rested on that page of the dossier, his brow faintly furrowed. His gaze settled on the writing, and after a moment of silence, he closed it.
By this point, he had essentially reviewed everything.
But Qian Chenming's mouth did not stop at all.
"Lastly, there is the matter of the Clear Sky Sect. It still needs to be resolved."
That single sentence made the hall even quieter.
Golden Crocodile froze for a moment, then said, "The Clear Sky Sect? Haven't they already withdrawn from the world?"
"Yes. After Tang Hao injured Pope Qian Xunji back then, the Clear Sky Sect sealed its mountain and shut its gates. Their whereabouts have been unknown ever since."
Chrysanthemum Douluo chimed in from the side, his tone puzzled. "And now Tang Hao has died at your hands, Your Holiness. Wasn't that matter settled long ago?"
Qian Chenming raised his head, sweeping his gaze over everyone in the hall.
There was something... indescribable in his eyes.
"Who told you that Tang Hao dying and the Clear Sky Sect withdrawing from the world meant it was over?"
The hall seemed to choke.
Golden Crocodile's Adam's apple bobbed. Only after a long while did he squeeze out the words. "Your Holiness means... to move against the remnants of the Clear Sky Sect?"
Qian Chenming did not answer immediately.
He closed the dossier and tapped its cover lightly twice with his fingertips.
"Golden Crocodile, how do you think a power can become stronger than ever before?"
Golden Crocodile opened his mouth, unable to think of an answer.
Qian Chenming stood, his gaze slowly sweeping across their faces.
"Through Soul Masters? Through armies?"
He paused.
"Not just those. More importantly, by making everyone remember the price of crossing us."
The corner of Chrysanthemum Douluo's brow twitched slightly. He understood the weight of those words.
Just as killing Tang Hao at the Pope's Palace this time had undoubtedly shown the world the price of crossing Spirit Hall.
Spirit Hall was absolutely not to be violated.
"But Tang Hao is already dead, and the Clear Sky Sect has sealed its mountain for so many years. Why don't we just let it go?" Qian Daoliu spoke up quietly then, his voice slow.
After all, he had made some private agreements with Tang Chen back then.
So he did not want to wipe out the Clear Sky Sect to the last man.
Yet the instant his words fell, the sharp sound of a kick to the backside rang out.
At some point, Qian Chenming had already come up to Qian Daoliu. He gave him a clattering thrashing, then grabbed him by the ear.
"Have I given you too much face? How did I father such a sanctimonious, pure-as-a-white-lotus saint?"
"Your son was nearly beaten to death, and you still swallowed your anger for over a decade. Come on, go take the Leshan Giant Buddha's seat.
"Keep sniveling like this, and see if I don't come down on you with my fists!"
Under that crackling barrage of criticism, Qian Daoliu surrendered outright. "I was wrong, I was wrong! I was wrong."
"Get lost. Go kneel in the Worship Hall. I should never have let you attend this meeting."
Qian Chenming cut him off, his tone icy as he cursed.
Afterward.
Only then did he look at everyone, still full of displeasure.
"Back then, Tang Hao, alone with a single hammer, gravely injured Xunji and wounded two of our hall's Titled Douluos before swaggering away. The whole world saw that battle."
He paused.
"Do you think that matter is already behind us?"
At those words, with Qian Daoliu's miserable state weighing on them, everyone in the hall immediately exchanged looks.
Was it really behind them? That was far from certain.
At the very least.
During that period, Spirit Hall had inevitably become a laughingstock.
By then, Qian Chenming had walked slowly to the center of the hall. With his back to everyone, he spoke each word clearly.
"Even if you've forgotten, the world won't. They'll remember that someone trampled Spirit Hall's face into the dirt back then, yet we couldn't even find a trace of Tang Hao."
"They'll wonder whether Spirit Hall amounts to anything more than that."
Golden Crocodile shuddered.
He finally understood.
This was not the ruthlessness of exterminating every last survivor. This was about reestablishing Spirit Hall's majesty, and it had to be driven into the bones of everyone in the world.
Although Qian Chenming had killed Tang Hao a few days earlier, that was not enough to treat the root of the problem.
Only by destroying the Clear Sky Sect now could they truly set Spirit Hall's majesty squarely above the hearts of everyone in the world.
Only then could they rightfully erase this greatest humiliation Spirit Hall had suffered over a decade ago.
For a moment, as he looked at the old pope, Qian Chenming, his eyes and heart were filled with reverence.
Only someone with the old pope's boldness and vision truly deserved the papal throne.
And this was exactly what Qian Chenming had in mind.
"Tang Hao is dead, but the Clear Sky Sect remains. Every day they remain is another day that humiliation remains. If Spirit Hall is to move forward, we cannot leave this loose end."
"So there are things that must be done."
Qian Chenming turned and sat back down in the seat of honor, his tone suddenly becoming casual.
"What we must do is let everyone in the world see that Spirit Hall will forever be sacred and inviolable to them. Only then will Spirit Hall have the chance to take a step into a broader world."
When he finished.
Everyone in the hall exchanged glances, seeing shock in one another's eyes.
Golden Crocodile Douluo fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Your subordinate understands."
Qian Chenming glanced at him and suddenly smiled.
Then he picked up another dossier from the table and opened it, his tone perfectly ordinary.
"The Clear Sky Sect has sealed its mountain for years. First, send people to ascertain its location. If you cannot find it, I can recommend a general area for you to search."
Before you continue